Jon Crispin's Notebook

On our way to visit schools in Achham, we flew from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi on Buddha Air.  It is only about an hour and fifteen minutes by air.  It was quite warm when we landed, and the monsoon hadn’t quite started yet, but was very sticky and humid.

Our first stop was for breakfast at the Hotel Redsun Plaza.  Most meals in rural Nepal are dal bhat although this place made us some nice omelets.

After breakfast, we immediately started climbing out of the valley towards our first night’s lodgings in Dadeldhura.

I did a lot of shooting out of the front window.  The World Education driver, Nanda Ram, had driven out from Kathmandu and met us at the airport.  It took him two days of driving to get there, a distance of  about 670 kilometers (415 miles).

The scenery is beyond breathtaking.  For us, calling this area “The Western Hills” is a bit of a misnomer as these are the biggest hills I have ever seen.  But compared to the Himalayas, they are small.

Again, this was just pre-monsoon, but the rice terraces were a beautiful green.

Goats are everywhere on the roads in Nepal, as are dogs and cows.  This is for my friend Tania Werbizky who loves goats.

This is a major crossroads near to our hotel in Dadeldhura.  Helen Sherpa mentioned that these plinths used to hold statues of the King, but after the monarchy ended, local politician’s likenesses began to appear.

I like the graphic on this sign that was stuck to the wall of our room at the Raino Hotel (amazing, they have a Facebook page!)

Cris and I usually travel with my grandfather’s cribbage set.  I especially like the Michigan Abrasive Company playing cards.

It was a beautiful evening with a full moon.  The bazar was hopping.

Tomorrow, off to our first school visit.